Meetings reflect the basic operating system of a group of people. In organizations where power dynamics are heavily at play you will see lots of meetings chaired by those with the power. In flat organizations, circles and open space events are probably more the norm. Communities meet in all kinds of different ways, but essentially a meeting is a good way to make the operating system visible. A great deal of the work I do involves helping organizations and communities shift to more participatory meeting processes. It isn’t always easy, and today I had one of those days when the …
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Spent a lovely evening last night playing tunes with friends new and old at The Snug Coffeehouse on Bowen Island. Every so often, a couple of times a month or so, we gather there on a Saturday night to play Irish and Scottish tunes. Last night my old friend Dave Marshall showed up, which was lovely. He and I were regulars at the famous Tuesday night session at the Irish Heather in Vancouver in the mid to late 1990s. Last night though was the first time I have ever played with Jocelyn Pettit. Jocelyn, who is all of 16 years …
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Sore all over from 2.5 hours of soccer with people half my age. Oh but what fun! # Rain is back in earnest. A good day for baking bread and splitting wood. # Added Bernie DeKoven's Pointless games (http://bit.ly/aVooEh) to my facilitation resources page: http://bit.ly/1BF6WH # RT @CreatvEmergence: It's not structure vs. flow…it's about creating new structures that liberate, rather than inhibit, flow. <~~ YES! # Deer are bleating on the road. Got a cord of firewood split. Little kids off to school. Busyness comes to the island. # A beautiful late summer dawn. The sea is the colour of …
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Some morsels: Bernie DeKoven explains that fun and funny are different beasts. (And see his pointless games page for more!) Think Global School is the new gig for my friend Brad Ovenell-Carter. The world’s first global trabelling high school.
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A lovely reminder about authenticity. Too often facilitators adopt the role of the uninvolved, disinterested session leaders. This little post reminds us that who we are is as important as what we are doing: Once long ago, when asked by a reporter if he had a message he wanted the world to hear, Gandhi replied, “My life is my message.” Whether we like it or not, this statement is just as true for you and me today as it was for Gandhi then. Who we are and how we are is the medium through which our message travels. That medium …